Tag: SF/F

Review – One Imbolc Gloaming

Posted August 14, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of One Imbolc Gloaming by Elora BishopOne Imbolc Gloaming, Elora Bishop

Somewhat to my disappointment, the second book of the Benevolence trilogy doesn’t expand on any of the gaps I felt in the previous book. Instead, it moves away from Benevolence for a while, as Emily and Isabella attend traditional Imbolc festivities. The world is expanded in terms of showing us more locations, more kinds of magic, and more of Isabella’s friends and family. It also gives us more time with the couple, as their relationship deepens — though it has been a bit insta-love. Still, for once it’s a lesbian couple having insta-love, and they’re cute, so why not? We can make exceptions, right?

It also features the tragic love story of a long-dead abbess and a knight, who are reunited through Isabella and Emily’s efforts. That part is a bit, well, flowery, but it works.

The scenes Bishop describes glitter with the winter cold and the warmth of friendship; that aspect is definitely done really well. I’m still curious about various aspects of the first story, and I’m also beginning to be very curious about Alice, Isabella’s cat familiar. She’s just been a sidekick so far, but there are hints at an inner life and outside personality for her, and I want it.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe

Posted August 13, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij JohnsonThe Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, by Kij Johnson

Received to review via Netgalley

I don’t know Lovecraft’s work very well, but that turned out to be okay: Johnson’s version of the Dream-Lands works as well without, as far as I can tell — maybe better, because I don’t know what she skipped or twisted, I didn’t make the comparisons others probably make. It stands on its own, weaving Kij Johnson’s skill with Lovecraft’s dark visions; I couldn’t tell you where the gaps are. I think I’d prefer to approach it as I have, because then you can just experience it as a story.

And as a story, it works well: perfectly paced, taking us on a slow quest through a world that’s strange and sometimes horrible, and yet also wonderful. I really enjoyed the way things could be awful in appearance and grotesque in actions, and yet not necessarily evil or unbound by a sense of honour: the ghouls here are fascinating, for all that they’re not the focus of the story, because they eat dead flesh and yet they have a culture, they have agreements, etc. Things are not quite clear-cut.

The main character, Vellitt Boe, is an interesting choice: she’s in her fifties, a former wanderer who became a teacher and who now has to go back to wandering. She’s capable but not perfect, no longer in her prime, no longer quite ready for the hardships of the road. There’s a nice sense of certainty with her: she knows who she is and where she’s going, what her goals are, and she doesn’t shrink from it or try to run away.

I enjoyed this a lot, and wouldn’t mind wandering through the Dream-Lands again. I’m not sure if I’ll read Lovecraft — knowing his attitudes and the way his work ignored women, it might just be too frustrating — but I certainly feel the temptation.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Last Unicorn

Posted August 12, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. BeagleThe Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle

Originally reviewed on September 12th, 2010

Having just finished reading The Last Unicorn, I’m not at all sure what to say about it, or how I feel about it. I felt vaguely enchanted by it — not in the sense of it being twee and sweet and Disney, but in the sense of it having a hold over me. I loved the writing, the richness of it, the strange and new descriptions, e.g. “the air hung shiny as candy” — things that don’t quite make logical sense, and yet, you know what they mean.

I loved the fairytale qualities interspersed with bits of humour, with funny references, like Shmendrick knowing how to deal with Cully because he knows his Anglo-Saxon folklore, and the reference to Child — a reference I got: he collected a lot of Robin Hood ballads. I loved the bittersweetness of it, even with the humour, the way it doesn’t come out fairytale-perfect.

I might have to come back later, and say more, when it’s settled in my mind/heart.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Lud-in-the-Mist

Posted August 9, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope MirrleesLud-in-the-Mist, Hope Mirrlees

I’ve been meaning to read Lud-in-the-Mist for ages and ages, and I don’t know why I didn’t get round to it sooner. It is classic fantasy; more like Lord Dunsany’s work than anything modern, though maybe Patricia McKillip might be a spiritual successor in some ways. The prose is glorious; it just feels warm and vivid, though honey-tinged in colour. I felt, reading it, like I could see the city of Lud; like I knew something of the dreams of its people, even if their daily lives were perhaps a little too devoid of the whimsical. It’s a fairly traditional set-up in a way: a town which embraces modernism and turns away from what Fairyland offers, while Fairyland creeps in through the gaps.

There’s whimsy, but there’s also quite serious comments on human nature and human relationships, on people and the kinds of things they do and think. And ultimately, the point about letting in a little Fairyland is a good one: it’s basically a metaphor for imagination and fun, and that is something people need.

The characters are interesting because they’re not what you would expect from modern fantasy; they’re not great people, they’re not heroes. The main character is a middle-aged man who just wants to protect his son — a son he doesn’t understand, but whom he loves all the same, and maybe is only just realising how much he loves. Nathaniel Chanticleer isn’t a particularly good man, nor a particularly clever one — in fact, he can be rather silly; he’s not some exemplary chosen one. He’s just the one who happens to be there, and just happens to do the right things, because of perfectly ordinary emotions.

I really enjoyed Lud-in-the-Mist, probably for the same reason I enjoyed Dunsany: it’s a kind of magic that I don’t find in modern fantasy enough, an old enchantment.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Broken

Posted August 8, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Broken by Susan BigelowBroken, Susan Bigelow

Perhaps it’s not surprising after Ryan @ SpecFic Junkie‘s review, but I really didn’t enjoy this book either. The set-up sounded kind of cool: I enjoy superhero stories in prose, because it’s a style of story I’m very familiar with from a childhood watching cartoons and Lois & Clark, but I’m not the world’s most visual person and sometimes comics really don’t work for me because they require more of an eye for detail. And a superheroine who has lost her powers teaming up with a guy who can see the future, in order to save a kid — okay, I’m in.

In execution, though, the prose is rather… dead, and the characters are exactly as one-dimensional as Ryan warned me. And the whole thing with the polyamorous household where polyamory has apparently been brought to human culture by aliens and everything’s weird and… um, no, I know a couple of people who are in polyamorous relationships, some of them like the one described, and it’s just… not that shocking.

Despite the cool-sounding premise, I was pretty much immediately turned off by main characters’ self-pity. Like Broken: she names herself Broken because she’s lost her ability to fly. And she fritters away her life because she’s broken. And yes, yes, we get it, you’re broken, your whole identity apparently depended on being able to fly. Right. Tired of that now!

Rating: 1/5

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Review – One Solstice Night

Posted August 6, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of One Solstice Night by Elora BishopOne Solstice Night, Elora Bishop

For some reason, I never got round to reading the two books which follow this one, so I’ve reread this one now. It’s a very short novella — shorter, I think, than the two which follow — and so it was a very quick read. Some of the novelty has worn off from Elora Bishop’s work to me; there was a magic the first time I read this in it being some of the first unrepentant lesbian romance I read, and I think I liked it more for that. Bishop’s introduction about the lack of queer people in the books I read as a child ran true; the only ones I remember were all evil, or died.

One Solstice Night is, by contrast, a little delicate sugary confection. Isabella is a mediocre witch who has slipped up a few too many times, and has in fact been chased out of towns by a screaming mob (but this is dealt with fairly lightly). She comes to the small town of Benevolence hoping for a new start, and attracted by the fact that she only has to do one spell each year. And there she meets an outcast woman, shunned because of an ancestor’s doings, and befriends her.

Naturally, things come to a head and the spell doesn’t go right, the villagers aren’t pleased by the love fest between their witch and their outcast, but love prevails. I’m quite interested to see if the other books go into more of the background: what exactly the Wolf was, why Emily’s ancestor damaged the protective spell, etc. The lack of explanation of a motive behind that is what made this feel rather shallow on the second read.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Sunshine

Posted August 5, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment

Cover of Sunshine by Robin McKinleySunshine, Robin McKinley

Originally reviewed 1st May, 2009

Sunshine was a reread, but it’s been a while and some things were a surprise to me all over again. I was worried it wouldn’t stand up to a reread: I skimmed a couple of other reviews and saw that people had some pretty negative things to say about it. And I certainly saw the truth in the things that were said, but I also enjoyed reading the book again. It helps that it’s an incredibly rich experience. The writing appeals a lot to my synaesthesia. It’s pretty sensual writing as it is: there’s a lot of detail, a lot of talk about cooking, and also a lot of feeling. Descriptions of sight and smell and hearing.

The whole book is written in first person POV. The main character is Sunshine, and she’s “not your average heroine”, as they say. She has no ambition, she’s not all that smart, she’s not that brave, and she’d quite happily live in her bakery all her life. Some people find her hard to like, but I think she’s quite human and although she does get a lot of power, eventually able to kill vampires with her bare hands, she doesn’t want it and she’s scared of it. I find the writing interesting and absorbing, but I’m sure for some people it’s too rambling and/or dense. It does take her an awful long time to do something as simple as log onto the internet equivalent.

The book is set in a post-apocalyptic world where magic, vampires, demons and succubi — to name a few — exist. All those kinds of things are for real. This could be ‘our world in the future’ given the references to Bram Stoker, or an alternate reality. It’s never made exactly clear, but I suspect the latter because of the slang words the characters use — “carthaginian hell”, “spartan”, “sheer”. I like that there’s no explanation of the slang, given that the book is narrated by someone who is a part of that world. You just don’t really think about that kind of thing in normal life: why would you? Sometimes Sunshine explains things that shouldn’t need explaining, like how to kill vampires, but you can’t avoid doing exposition entirely!

The thing that really impresses me about this is that the vampires aren’t overly sexualised, and while Constantine is still an ally, he remains unsettling. Okay, there are a couple of scenes in which Sunshine has chemistry with him, but she’s also more often than not aware that there’s something vastly different about him. He moves differently, he looks different, there’s no heartbeat… I like the way it ends on an awkward note, with them not quite sure what’s going to happen now but not wanting to lose contact with each other.

A lot of the more minor characters are completely fascinating and have big backstories that we clearly barely glimpse — Mel, Yolande, Sunshine’s grandmother, the goddess of pain, the SOFs in general… There’s a lot to work with in this world, and I’d really love to see a sequel.

My main problem with this book is how it made me crave cinnamon rolls. Argh!

Rating: 5/5

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Review – The Falling Woman

Posted August 3, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of The Falling Woman by Pat MurphyThe Falling Woman, Pat Murphy

The Falling Woman is a slowish, atmospheric read which got hooks into me and wouldn’t let go. I love the setting — the archaeological dig, the tensions of the excavation team, even the awkwardness between the long estranged mother and daughter… It feels like the kind of site it is: laden with history, meaning, and maybe even ghosts. It’s hard to describe, and to do so would be a disservice if you want to read the book, I think; the whole point is the slow unwinding, the building of tension and uncanniness, even threat.

What’s also awesome is that this is a book populated with women — not all female characters, but still, a good proportion. And they talk to each other (about things other than men!), and work and get dirty and bitten by bugs and tired till they ache. They like or dislike each other, find it difficult to relate, enjoy one another’s company or avoid it, and it feels real. No tokenism here (though perhaps a bit of racial stereotyping around the boyfriends the younger women pick up during their time off), and no false utopia either. Things are complicated, sometimes things aren’t even solved, and Murphy handles it well.

Definitely don’t read introductions or summaries, for this one. Give it time to reveal itself to you — I think you’ll be glad if you do.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Little, Big

Posted August 2, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Little, Big by John CrowleyLittle, Big, John Crowley

I’ve had Little, Big on my reading list for sooo long, and it definitely sounded like something I could love — a house bordering on the otherworld, rich writing, a whole tangle of family and connections to the otherworld that isn’t understood by all characters, and indeed is revealed slowly to the reader as well… For a while, I was captivated, definitely. Crowley’s writing is lovely, made me almost smell the rooms of the house, the dew-damp ground outside, etc, etc.

In the end, it reminded me a little of my experience with Tam Lin, in that I was waiting for things to happen, waiting for the story to move. Unlike Tam Lin, by the time it did, though, I’d stopped hanging on. I wasn’t interested in the characters anymore — who was sleeping with whom and who was the father of whose child, or even what each character was interested in and what they believed about their part in the story. Smokey Barnable reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s Shadow in American Gods; a nebulous figure to whom the story happens (except Smoky isn’t nearly as central as Shadow).

In the end, I got too lost in the words to enjoy the plot; honestly, I’d find it hard to tell you what the plot of most of the book was (though more plot appeared later on). A lot of it seemed to be just about coexisting with the otherworld, without much reaching across the boundaries, without much conflict or drive. It felt like short episodes of life from a family saga which just happened to include an otherworldly link. It just didn’t keep my interest, despite the high recommendations from friends (and the fact that it’s one of the Fantasy Masterworks series).

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Hex

Posted August 1, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Hex by Thomas Olde HeuveltHex, Thomas Olde Heuvelt

I was a little hesitant to read this one, because I’m a wuss (let’s not even talk about Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, okay), and I was told it was pretty creepy. But actually, my problem with this book was not the creepiness — at least, not the supernatural stuff. I was really viscerally discomforted by the human nastiness. And the misogyny. And just… I don’t know, it really wasn’t to my taste, and I can’t even really find anything to say about it. I was more grossed out than weirded out — and it seems weird, because other bloggers I know didn’t remark on this stuff at all. (Though there are some Goodreads reviews that do, which I guess is reassuring.)

The witch herself is kind of creepy, but the modern trappings of the story didn’t fit for me. Reporting the appearance of a dead witch in your house via an app…? It’s clever, it works, but apparently I like my horror traditional.

I also didn’t get into the characters, at all; that’s probably what makes horror actually horrifying and absorbing for me, caring about what happens to a character. So the lack of that… eh. I can’t honestly say I enjoyed it at all. For a counterpoint, you might like Mogsy’s review.

Rating: 1/5

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